Monkeys Can't do Magic
by Miakemi
Summary: Pudding tries to do a magic trick that involves handcuffs with Taruto as her unwilling partner, but something goes wrong. What will they do when they're stuck together? PxT Rating Teen only because I'm paranoid about such things. This will be finished eventually. Sorry for the long wait. CH5 UP
1. Stuck Together

**Monkeys Cant Do Magic**

By: DarkWolfYoukai860

AN: Well, thanks to my friend, Mew Ami, Ive finally been able to write some TMM fanfiction. She gave me a few ideas to work with. So, hopefully they're not OOC, but I think I can keep them IC. Sorry for any OOC that does occur though. I also must add after typing the chapter, its incredibly fun to write na no da, so if you get annoyed by the repetition dont flame me for it; just skip over it. :)

Summary: Pudding tries to do a magic trick that involves handcuffs with Taruto as her unwilling partner, but it goes horribly wrong. What will they do when they're stuck together? PxT

Disclaimer: Tokyo Mew Mew and its characters are the property of Mia Ikumi. If I owned it, certain things would change.

**Chapter Overhauled: 7/20/11**

**It is not much longer, but I wanted to update it to my current writing level. If there are any quotation or apostrophes missing, it's because messed up the formatting and I had to go in an put the missing marks in.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Stuck Together**

Heavy, old wooden doors creaked open into a dimly lit store as young brown eyes began to scan the closest merchandise. The first items the girl saw was a table on top of which was a neatly stacked pile of trick card decks with a few tarot decks mixed in. Her eyes wandered from display to display as the door shut behind her, falling on the shelves that lined the walls of the small, cluttered shop. These walls held hundreds of other products of the magicians trade: wands, more cards, a few top hats, and even those large boxes magicians use for disappearing acts.

This was the first time the young girl, Pudding Fong, had entered this particular magic shop, and the hundreds of different tricks available made her eyes widen in excitement. Though magic was not one of her stronger skills, she had decided that she needed a bigger variety of trick to perform at Caf Mew Mew. The other day, Ryou had banned her fire breathing, and Ichigo seemed to be getting irritated with the occasional dropped plate that she would inevitably have to sweep up. Pudding was sure that the incident with the plate that almost hit her in the back of the head the other day didnit help with keeping Ichigo happy, either.

Pudding's search lasted at least fifteen minutes before she started to wonder if she should forget magic and just continue with her normal act while being more careful with where she was twirling her plates. There didn't seem to be any tricks that she could comfortably perform for their guests without needing to ask for volunteers, and the cafe's hectic atmosphere just was not the place for lengthy tricks that required volunteers and the ability to put on illusions. Even card tricks would probably be too bothersome to their guests and to the other mews.

Pudding turned towards the door to leave and froze in mid-step, her eyes lighting with new-found excitement. There, on one of the side tables sat the most exciting magical tool in the entire store. She didn't know how she had missed it. What had caught Puddings attention about this particular object was the word "Indestructible" written on the sign hanging beneath the objects. Indestructible handcuffs. She almost jogged to the table in her excitement, thinking of all the tricks she could do. She grabbed a box and smiled as a wonderful idea came to mind. Surely Taru-Taru would enjoy a quick magic trick.

With the box in hand, she walked happily to the sales counter. "Are these really indestructible, na no da?" she asked the bored looking salesman at the counter. The man quickly snapped out of his thoughts and nodded with a smile.

"Of course they are," he answered, taking the box in hand and continuing, "Right here it says 'Guaranteed 100% Indestructible'. If they break, you can bring em back here and get a new pair or exchange them for something else. Just be sure to be careful. These cuffs are unique because they do not have a safety release feature, so you're going to have to have the key with you if you want to get them off. They were designed for pros, after all."

"Thanks for the warning! Pudding will take them. How much are they, na no da?"

"1500¥ (an: somewhere around $15.00) please."

Pudding quickly paid him and exited the store with a fully formed plan in her mind. She would go home and open her new handcuffs and then go find her most likely unwilling volunteer for the infamous handcuff escape trick.

* * *

"Pudding will do a trick, na no da!" the excited monkey girl exclaimed as she latched onto an annoyed and somewhat confused Taruto. There had been no warning of her presence. No battle cry. No noise. She was not even transformed. It was just one moment he was alone checking out good plants for his attack, the next moment she was there.

"GET OFF!" he yelled, struggling to free himself from her grasp. Unfortunately her grip was way stronger than he would have expected. As strong as a... what did the humans call it? Oh yeah, a bear. As strong as a bear. No matter how much he struggled, she was not going to let him go unless she felt like it. The dismay from this realization reflected in his eyes went unnoticed by his captor, however, and Pudding continued with her excited blabbering.

"Pudding wants to show Taru-Taru a trick, na no da! Just hold out your wrist." She didn't give him a chance to decline as she grabbed his right wrist in one hand and drew a strange metallic object from her pocket with the other hand. Taruto's watched in horror as, with one fluid motion, she locked one ring of the object on his wrist and attached the other ring to her left wrist. So focused was he on the cool, silver ring now adorning his wrist that he almost didn't hear her next words, "Now Pudding will make the handcuffs disappear, na no da!"

As Pudding slipped a white cloth over their cuffed wrists, Taruto was asking himself why this had to happen to him. He didnt even do anything to cause her to attack him. Sure he was about to create a chimera animal out of a very nice looking thorn bush, but that didn't mean that Pudding had to attack him _before_ the bush started attacking. And now he was caught with Pudding talking about something called a magic trick, unable to understand what was happening. He just wanted to continue his attack and act like this had never happened. Sighing in defeat, Taruto turned his attention back to Pudding in time for her to explain the next part of the situation that was unfolding.

"Now Pudding will say the magic word, na no da!" She exclaimed and proceeded to say a word that Taruto didn't understand ("Abracadabra") and removed the cloth to show the handcuffs were still there. Disappointment flickered in her eyes, adding to Taruto's dread. It was one thing when Pudding was excited, but something had to be terribly wrong if she was disappointed with a situation she had been so excited about creating just moments before.

"Hmmm. It didnt work, na no da." As if seeing his horror, she quickly added, "Dont worry, Taru-Taru! Pudding has a key, na no da!" With that, she dug her free hand into her pocket only to pull out the interior of the pocket, revealing a quarter-sized hole. "Uh oh... The key must have fallen out, na no da."

Finally, everything clicked in Taruto's mind. The worse thing that could possibly happen to him _had_ happened. He was stuck to Pudding. "What did you do! I cant believe this! RELEASE ME!" He gave her no time to respond before Taruto tried to find a way to escape. His first thought was to teleport out of the wretched human invention. He quickly put this idea into practice, teleporting a small distance away; but instead of being freed, the handcuffs caused Pudding to go with him. His less rational second idea was to try to fly away. Again, Pudding was in the way, this time weighing him down. He even considered attacking the metal with his weapon but decided he was not desperate enough to fry them both while trying to free himself. He was pulled out of his reverie of escape plans as Pudding's free hand hit him happily on the shoulder.

"Dont worry, Taru-Taru! Pudding has a spare key at home. Lets go, na no da!" With that she all but started to drag him in the direction of her house, his objections falling on deaf ears.

The two received numerous stares as they walked past other people on the street. It seemed like no head was left unturned with some people staring, some people pointing, some walking even faster to stay away from them, and some people even taking pictures, either thinking Taruto was a cosplayer or a freak show. It made the young alien uncomfortable that so many humans were taking notice of him in such negative ways without him being able to do anything. '_I guess I should not be surprised,' _he thought as Pudding continued, unfazed, _'the only time any human has seen me is when I attack, after all.' _Still, he would have rather been attacking these humans over being a source of their entertainment.

* * *

Above them, unnoticed by Taruto, a certain green-haired alien observed them curiously. "Hmmm... Taruto seems to be having fun. I wonder what's around his wrist." Kish shrugged, quickly losing interest in the situation. The handcuffs didn't look too harmful to him. Plus, Pudding was the least threatening mew mew out of all of them. Maybe if it was Zakuro, he'd do something but there was not much harm that could be done if he left Taruto with Pudding for a little bit. Taruto might even be able to turn his capture into an advantage.

"He's lucky the monkey has such an interest in him. Ichigo would never consider connecting me to her wrist and taking me home..." A wave of jealousy flowed over him at the thought. Taruto didn't know how lucky he was. Shaking his head, he averted his thoughts back to Ichigo. It had been a while since he'd talked to her. Maybe he could finally convince her to dump her annoying boyfriend and finally come with him. Cheered up by this impossible thought, Kish disappeared, off to find his dear Koneko-chan and inevitably be turned down again.

* * *

Back on the ground, even with the occasional picture taken by passersby, it took barely any time for Pudding and Taruto to reach Pudding's house. Pudding stopped suddenly right outside the door, a look of puzzlement crossing her features. Taruto stared at her expectantly. _'This was her house, right? Why doesn't she just open the door?'_

Finally Pudding spoke, her voice still cheerful despite her words, "Pudding cant just walk into the house with an alien. Pudding's siblings would notice, na no da."

Taruto felt like he would die of exasperation. "Why couldn't you have thought about that sooner? Besides, you didn't seem to care about the people on the street seeing me." Taruto said, his tone a little sharper than had meant it to be because of his lingering annoyance at being captured so easily. Pudding's eyes fell to the ground for a moment, making him almost feel guilty for his tone. Almost... But in another moment, the monkey mew perked right back up, erasing any guilt he would have felt.

"Pudding is sorry for not thinking things through, but maybe Pudding could keep passing you off as a cosplayer, na no da." She didnt give Taruto any time to ask what a cosplayer was before opening the door to her house and calling out, "Chancha, Lucha, Hanacha, Honcha, Heicha, Pudding's home, na no da!"

Taruto could have sworn a stampede was taking place right in Pudding house as soon as that statement escaped her mouth. The noise of many footsteps approaching from above filled the house, and all five of Puddings siblings rushed downstairs looking like one combined creature. Taruto wondered why she'd left them alone. It didn't seem like the safest idea. Maybe she hadn't planned to be gone very long?

He was pulled out of his thoughts as the five smaller kids stared at him curiously for a moment before launching themselves upon him. "Hey, get off!" he protested, to no avail. The children ignored him and each took a turn to reach for and inspect his large ears.

"Are they real?" the kids asked in slight awe. It was then that Taruto realized they knew nothing about the invasion or Pudding's side job of getting in the way of their plans. Not that he would expect her to tell them anything.

Finally, Pudding rescued him from their scrutiny, "Don't be rude, na no da! He's a cosplayer. Please get off of him, na no da."

Her siblings obeyed without hesitation and formed a disorganized semi-circle in front of them, waiting for a more formal introduction. Pudding went on with and introduction that Taruto would rather have replaced with his own words, "This is Taru-Taru. Hes Puddings friend, na no da!"

"It's Taruto, and I'm not your friend! You handcuffed me and forced me to come here!" He yelled in frustration. Pudding was so infuriating!

Unlike in front of the door earlier, Pudding wasn't phased, "Heicha, do you know where Pudding left her spare handcuff key, na no da?"

Heicha and their brothers nodded happily and raced out of the room to retrieve their sister's key. Much to Taruto's horror they returned empty-handed with slightly sorrowful on their faces. "Sorry, we can't find the key onee-chan. They thought it would be fun to hide it and don't remember where they put it." She motioned to Puddings bothers as she said the word "they".

"That's ok. We can stay like this until we find the key, na no da," Pudding said with a forgiving smile.

Taruto, however, wasn't so happy about this news. In fact, being stuck to Pudding was the worse news his mind could comprehend. He could already tell this was going to be a _long _and _difficult_ ordeal.

* * *

**AN: **Well? You like, you hate, you really dont care? Feedback is needed please. Also, the yen fluctuates so I just made a rough estimate so it would be around the intended amount. Review and I will write more. One more thing, tell me if you want me to stop writing na no da after Puddings sentences. Thanks and have a nice day.

Onee-chan = big sister


	2. Hats and Slumber Parties

AN: Ok, I meant to get this up Sunday, but I didn't get a chance to type it. Saturday I had to attend a party and Sunday, I became slightly ill. Also, because I'm an idiot, I haven't done my summer homework and now will suffer… Just like Ichigo in episode 22. Sorry about that. Now, on to the chapter. Enjoy.

**Monkeys Can't do Magic**

**Chapter 2: Hats and Slumber Parties**

**By: DarkWolfYoukai860**

Pudding rummaged through her closet, pulling out as many types of hats as she could. "Try this one on, na no da!" She said happily as she handed him a tall white hat. It was a chef hat that she had forgotten she had. She wasn't even sure where and when she had gotten it.

Taruto shook his head, "I'm not putting that on! I could take you to Kish and Pai right now if I really felt like it! I'm sure Kish would be able to break these stupid handcuffs."

Pudding didn't listen to Taruto at all. Instead, she swiftly grabbed him and forced it onto his head despite the fight he put up. She managed to keep him from ripping it off long enough to see what he looked like in it. "Nope, it doesn't hide your ears, na no da." With that, she allowed him to rip it off his head and throw it to the ground.

"Next hat! Try this one, na no da!" So, the hat torment continued, this time with a cowboy hat. That one didn't work either. The baseball cap she forced onto him didn't work either. Soon, Pudding was starting to lose hope that any hat would work.

Luckily or unfortunately for Taruto, one hat did work. It was a large wool cap that forced him to put his hair down and covered the large part of his ears. It had a patch of a monkey eating a banana right on the front. "It's not winter, but it'll do, na no da."

"Easy for you to say! You don't have to wear it because you weren't taken hostage!" Taruto was now overflowing with annoyance.

"Taru-Taru isn't Pudding's hostage, na no da. Taru-Taru is Pudding's friend, na no da!" Pudding said happily, never phased by Taruto's anger. "Come on, Taru-Taru. Pudding has to make dinner, na no da!" With that Pudding all but dragged Taruto to the kitchen, not giving Taruto a chance to take the snow cap off.

In the kitchen, Pudding rushed around obviously used to a fast pace. Taruto could barely keep up with her as she rushed around preparing everything. She was gathering different types of vegetables and some beef. She stopped in front of a big pot once everything was gathered and started to add the assorted food to the pot.

"There. Now all we have to do is stir it, na no da."

Taruto didn't really care how to make food. He never had to after all. "Shouldn't we be looking for the key? I can't be here any longer than necessary."

Pudding ignored him stirring the beef stew and then suddenly decided to answer, "We have to eat before we can look for anything. Besides, it's like a slumber party, na no da!"

"Slumber party?" Taruto questioned. There was no such thing on his planet. Of course, there was also little privacy there too.

"Taru-Taru has never been to a slumber party? Pudding will make this the best slumber party Taru-Taru has ever had, na no da!" Pudding exclaimed happily. Of course, she never had told Taruto what a slumber party was. Why tell him when she could show him?

"Stew's ready, na no da!" With that, she turned the stove onto low and basically dragged Taruto into the main room of the house. "Chancha, Lucha, Hanacha, Honcha, Heicha, dinner's ready na no da!" Her siblings all but ran down the stairs, grabbed a bowl, and went into the kitchen to crowd around the food. Pudding served each before handing Taruto a bowl and then serving herself last. They all sat down at the table. "Itadakimasu!" Taruto was the only one who didn't utter the word always said before a meal.

"Onee-chan, why doesn't Taru-Taru say itadakimasu?" Heicha asked. Taruto hadn't known of the Japanese custom.

"It's Taruto," he said, angry that Pudding had introduced him as Taru-Taru in the first place.

"Taru-Taru… uh… likes to turn away from customs every once in a while, na no da." Pudding's sister just shrugged and started to eat with the others. Taruto just stared at the food. He had never seen such a food before. It had to be safe or Pudding wouldn't serve it to her family.

"Isn't Taru-Taru hungry, na no da?"

"No, I'm hungry. I was just… thinking," with that, he took a small spoonful of the soup and found that it wasn't that bad. In fact, it was actually pretty good. Unable to think of any criticism, he decides to eat the rest quietly.

After dinner, Pudding's siblings stacked their bowls on the kitchen counter and went back to their room. Pudding quickly filled the sink with soapy water. "You dry the dishes, Taru-Taru!" Pudding exclaims as she started to all but throw the dishes into the sink, somehow not breaking any of them, and began to wash them. As she was done with each dish, she gently threw them at Taruto.

Caught off guard, Taruto barely caught the first bowl, in his free hand, before it was able to plummet to the ground. The second one came just as quickly as the first one, and by the time Pudding finished, all Taruto had accomplished was a stack of seven wet bowls and the soup pan on the floor. "Jeez! I can't catch everything if you're going to throw one every five seconds!"

"Sorry…" She then smiles for a moment, "Don't worry Taru-Taru! You'll get used to it, na no da!"

"I'm not planning on getting used to it! Now we should focus on finding the key!"

"Not yet, na no da! First, Pudding must explain slumber parties to Taru-Taru, na no da!" Pudding looked excited, and there was something else written on her face. Taruto couldn't guess if it was a smirk or a smile. Of course, it was a smirk. The majority of all people who participated in slumber parties were girls after all.

"Fine, just tell me what a slumber party is and we can look for the key." Pudding all out ignored his eagerness to unlock the handcuffs.

"The best teacher is experience, na no da! Tomorrow's Saturday so we can look for the key then. Tonight, all we need to do is have fun, na no da!" And with that, the conversation was officially over leaving Taruto strangely speechless. This was not his idea of fun.

Pudding led Taruto (now willing to follow instead of being dragged) to the family room and again called her siblings. They came down confused, not used to being called so much. "Pudding is showing Taru-Taru what a slumber party is! First game is a scavenger hunt, na no da!"

Taruto's eyes brightened at the thought. "We're looking for the key!"

Pudding shook her head cheerfully. "No Taru-Taru, we're looking for random items on this list that have nothing to do with the key, na no da!" Pudding handed Taruto a list from seemingly out of nowhere. In all actuality though, it had come from the draw in the end table next to her when Taruto wasn't looking. She had made the list in advance, already planning what she would do once she had her friend handcuffed to her.

Taruto looked instantly deflated and slightly annoyed. "Why can't you just add the key to the list?"

"Pudding can't do that. Pudding'd have to go to Café Mew Mew, retype the list, and then reprint it, na no da!" Pudding's siblings nodded in agreement, none of them saying the obvious that Pudding could write the item down on the already typed list. Taruto had a feeling they were just trying to torment him.

"Ok, since Taru-Taru and I are stuck together, we'll look in teams, na no da." The boys quickly split into two groups, leaving Heicha without a partner. "Hmm… Uneven numbers, na no da… Heicha can be on our team! Right Taru-Taru, na no da?" Taruto nodded, figuring even if he objected, he would be ignored.

"Ok, everyone stay within the house or the yard, na no da! Go!" With that, the scavenger hunt was underway. The majority of was Pudding dragging Taruto around to find the items on the list which varied from a purple leaf to a 9 volt battery. The majority of the list was outside though, since Pudding's family knew where everything was kept.

It took about an hour for them to find everything they could on the list, and when they reported back to the house, Pudding's brothers were already there. Al three teams put their finds on the table to compare. In the end, it was a tie between Pudding's team and Chancha and Lucha's team. Taruto felt like the whole game had been a waste of time all together.

"Next, we're going to watch a movie! Pudding will make the popcorn, na no da!" Thus, Taruto got to watch, or suffer through in his opinion, a movie call Pokemon that he didn't really understand. He seemed to be the only one not enjoying the movie though. So, he stuck to eating the strange food Pudding had called popcorn. It was another human creation that he could live with, right behind that weird cold food he'd had when Pai and Kish had ditched him because of the heat.

It was around 8:30 when the movie ended. "One more game before Pudding's siblings have to go to bed, na no da! Hmm…" Pudding slowly grabbed one of the couch pillows with her free hand while Taruto wasn't paying attention. Even if he had been paying attention, he would have dismissed the gesture. "PILLOW FIGHT, NA NO DA!" With those words, all hell broke loose.

Every Fon in the house had somehow become armed, and Taruto had no escape since he was handcuffed to Pudding. He was hit on all sides by the soft pillows that somehow started to hurt as he kept getting hit. "STOP!" He yelled in anger. He couldn't take it anymore. Using his military training, he grabbed Pudding's pillow and quickly disarmed her. He continued by countering and dodging her siblings' attacks.

Everything ended fairly quickly, however, when one of his counter attacks knocked Heicha down and she started to cry. Pudding's maternal instincts instantly took over as she crouched down to Heicha, bringing Taruto with her. "Heicha, are you ok? Taruto, why did you do that, na no da!" Her voice seemed to slash through him like a knife, and he was unsure why that bothered him.

"It's not my fault! I was defending myself!" His argument wasn't a very strong one. In fact, Pudding shot it down almost as quickly has he had shouted it.

"It's a game, na no da! You weren't going to get hurt! They're just pillows, na no da!" Taruto, though wanting to keep defending his actions, decided it might be a better idea to shut up while he could.

After Pudding made sure Heicha wasn't hurt and settled her down, she decided it was time for her siblings to go to bed. "Everyone upstairs, na no da. Brush your teeth and put on your pj's! I'll be up in a minute, na no da!" Her siblings nodded and obeyed without a fuss. As soon as her siblings were upstairs, she looked at Taruto almost staring him down.

The tension almost scared the poor midget half to death, and he had never seen Pudding truly enraged, only slightly angry and determined to stop him in battle. "Pudding I…" He stopped in mid-sentence not knowing what to say. On his planet, kids were very precious and well protected. They were the future after all. He wasn't sure what was considered a crime against a child on Earth, but on his planet he would have been punished somehow though not severely since he himself was a kid.

"Are you sorry for knocking down Pudding's sister, na no da?"

Taruto thought for a moment. Was he truly sorry for almost hurting a human? The Mew Mews and the Blue Knight had hurt Kish before and they weren't sorry. Was it not the same thing, even though Kish was his comrade instead of his brother? Then again, he was going to be stuck with Pudding for who knows how long before they found the key or Kish used his Dragon Swords to cut the chain, whichever came first. Did he really want her angry at him for that long? "Yes, I'm sorry."

It was as if all the tension disintegrated because of Taruto's words. Pudding smiled happily, warming his heart a little, though he didn't want to admit it. "Good. Now you should tell Heicha, na no da!" She didn't give him a chance to object as they started to walk upstairs, so he turned his thoughts to how she'd forgiven him so quickly. She really didn't have a mind suited for battle. It was strange, but he had just realized that she really was innocent for someone trying to stop their efforts. Why didn't she hold a grudge?

He was yanked out of his thoughts as Pudding entered the crowded room with two sets of bunk beds and a futon in the middle. "Is everyone ready for be, na no da?" All her siblings nodded. "Good. Heicha, Taru-Taru has something to say to you, na no da."

Heicha looked up from her futon expectantly. Taruto sighed, "I'm sorry for any harm I inflicted on you."

Apparently all of Pudding's family was forgiving because Heicha just smiled, "It's ok Taru-Taru onii-san!" Taruto didn't like how accepting and forgiving these people were. In one day he had become onii-san. He didn't plan on getting close to any of these humans. He didn't want to be like Kish, whose loyalty was questionable at the moment.

"Come on Taru-Taru. We should get to bed too. The earlier we sleep, the earlier we wake and find that key, na no da!" Taruto couldn't agree more. The sooner he was free the better. Being stuck here was a waste of time to him.

"Goodnight, na no da." With that, the two left the room, Pudding turning off the lights and shutting the door. "This is my room, na no da," she said as they entered the room next to the other. It was quite plain with only the necessities such as a bed, a dresser, and a closet. It was obvious Pudding's family wasn't the richest family around, and it confused him that there were no adults around at all.

"Where do I sleep?" He asked as he realized there was only one bed and no futons.

"In the bed, na no da."

Taruto became slightly red, "I'm not sleeping in that bed. I'll sleep on the floor next to it." The alien could tell that Pudding wasn't thinking about the sleeping situation the same way he was.

"But your arm will go to sleep, na no da."

Taruto was confused for a second by her words. Then he understood, "My arm will be fine. The floor is good."

"Oh, I get it, na no da! You want the full slumber party experience, na no da!" Pudding didn't register Taruto's confusion as she led him to the closet. It contained the usual clothes being hung, a sleeping bag, a futon, and some extra blankets. "Do you want the sleeping bag or the futon, na no da?"

Taruto shrugged not knowing what either really was. Feeling a considerate streak, he pointed to the sleeping bag so she could have the one that looked most comfortable. Pudding smiled as if knowing what he was doing and set up the futon and sleeping bag side by side. "Time for bed, na no da!" With that, she turned the light off, and they slowly stumbled to bed trying not to trip before they got there.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kish appeared in the green dimension in front of Pai. He looked a little roughed up and not very happy. "The leader beat you again?" Pai asked, tired of Kish's constant pursuit of the Mew Mew leader.

Kish shook his head. "She didn't. It was that stupid Blue Knight again. He always gets in the way!"

Pai rolled his eyes, showing how little he cared about the subject of the conversation. "Have you seen Taruto? He hasn't been around since I sent him to attack."

Kish thought for a moment. Yes, he had seen Taruto. Did he feel like ruining the midget and the monkey's fun? Maybe, maybe not. He decided only a moment later. "Yeah, I think he was caught in a human torture device or something."

"What!" Pai looked instantly more alert and ready to listen to what Kish had to say. "What do you mean human torture device!"

"I said I think it was a torture device. It's a pair of rings connected by a chain. Hold out your arm like this, and I'll show you." Kish and Pai both held up their arm and Kish used his other hand to trace around his wrist, across to Pai's, and then around Pai's wrist.

"Ok, which human has him?"

"The monkey mew. Personally, I think leaving him there for a while could be an advantage." Pai stared at Kish quizzically. For once he couldn't see what Kish meant. The Mew Mews had a hostage and Kish didn't seem concerned about it at all.

"Hear me out. Taruto's around one of the mews. He's unable to escape, but so is she. So, while he's there, he can find a weakness or something… I don't know, just some type of information or something. Besides, he could take her as a hostage any second. It's like a double edged sword."

Pai looked mildly surprised. Who knew Kish was capable of such a good plan. If only they could contact Taruto about it without the monkey knowing. Kish held back a smirk. He only wanted Taruto to be stuck with Pudding for a while, and Pai bought it; hook, line, and sinker. This would be interesting.

**AN: Ok, that was the longest chapter I've written for quite a while. Broke 3,000 words. I barely every get past 1000 words. Anyway, thanks for the reviews. Sorry I took so much longer than I aimed to. I won't be able to update for a while. Probably not until after school starts. I have vacation coming up next week, and I still have the summer reading assignment I've yet to do. I tried to keep Pudding's house as close to the anime as possible. Also, sorry for any OOC. Please review.**

** Itadakimasu - Translated as Thanks for the food, let's eat, or something along those lines. Always said before a meal.  
Onii-san - big brother  
**


	3. The Search Begins

**Monkeys Can't do Magic**

**By: DarkWolfYoukai860**

**AN:** Ok, I'd like to say that I've been incredibly busy with schoolwork (actually there is a website assignment that's the entire bane of my existence, but that was only assigned a few days ago), I had writer's block, or even my dog ate my rough draft, but the truth is, I didn't update because I'm a lazy bum who enjoys procrastination. Sorry for the wait. I do feel bad, but I have a problem when it comes to updating at times… Sometimes it just doesn't happen when I want it to.

One more thing, in response to N.River, na no da is a phrase that Pudding puts at the end of her sentences in the Japanese version. It doesn't really translate into any actual English phrase, but describes it as verbal explanation mark in the character analysis section so we'll go with that since Neko-Tokyo is an awesome site. Anyway, on to the chapter.

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**Ch3: The Search Begins **

The next morning, Taruto was awoken by his arm being moved. Keeping his eyes closed, he wondered for a moment what it was that was moving his arm. He let out a small groan as he remembered where he was and who he was stuck to.

Pudding, hearing the groan, interpreted it the wrong way. "Sorry for waking you, na no da." To this, Taruto allowed his eyes to open and blinked at the small amount of sunlight coming from the window. Pudding was beside him, half standing. "Morning, na no da!"

Taruto grumbled a few words that could have been good morning or let me go back to bed. Of course, Pudding just assumed he said good morning and slightly yanked him into a sitting position. The handcuffs were now starting to annoy him.

His sleep lost, he sighed and stood up the rest of the way. Of course, the fast pace of the Fon house seemed to continue from the previous day. For, as soon as Taruto was standing, Pudding was cleaning up the bedding; rolling up the sleeping bag and moving the futon out of the way. These actions almost made Taruto lose his balance and plummet to the ground, but lucky for him, he could fly and allow himself to easily follow Pudding's movements

With that done they exited the room, Taruto allowing his feet just to touch the ground but still fly at the same time. Taruto yawned as they walked. He wasn't really a morning person. Apparently the rest of the house, though, was full of morning people. As Pudding opened her siblings' bedroom, a chorus of good mornings was heard. Her siblings were already getting ready.

After making sure her siblings were up, Pudding continued down the hall and then down the stairs. They made a quick turn to the kitchen and stopped in the middle. "What does Taru-Taru want for breakfast, na no da?"

Taruto couldn't begin to answer. He wasn't familiar with human food after all. At his puzzled look, Pudding decided they would have steamed rice, miso soup, and a salad (AN: The Japanese breakfast was looked up on google. I hope it's even close to right.). So, with the decision made, she began pulling Taruto around the kitchen to prepare the food. Her performing skills were again incorporated into everyday life as she began tossing and then moving the bowl to catch the salad in absurd ways which left Taruto sure that the lettuce and ingredients were about to hit the ground every time.

Once the food was prepared, she began filling bowls of soup and rice. Taruto noticed that there were barely enough bowls for everyone even including the bowls they'd washed the night before. By the end, they came up one bowl short. Pudding frowned for a moment and then got a small plate out for her salad.

"Help Pudding set the table, na no da." With that statement, Taruto was given about half of the food. Pudding had to show him how to carry so much food, a skill she'd learned long before working at Café Mew Mew.

The two walked carefully out to the dining area, the handcuffs an obvious hindrance and Pudding put down her portion of the food first and then helped Taruto with his.

"BREAKFAST IS READY, NA NO DA!" Pudding yelled up the stairs. Moments later, her siblings rushed down the stairs and sat in their chairs. Pudding looked to Taruto, hoping he'd learned from their last meal.

They sat down last and a moment later the chant of, "Itadakimasu" filled the room. This time, Taruto had made an effort to say it and then they began. It only took 15-20 minutes for them to eat the meal and clean up.

"So are we looking for the key today," Taruto asked a sliver of hope hidden in his voice. To his relief, Pudding nodded.

"We have to get ready first, na no da." With that she led him back upstairs and to her room. "Hmmm…. Taru-Taru doesn't have any other clothes…" Taruto didn't see the big problem here. You were lucky to have one outfit of adequate clothing on his planet, let alone two outfits. Plus all of the standard clothing, other than their military (AN: for lack of a better term… what would you call Kish, Pai, and Taruto?), looked the same anyway; white garments that flowed all the way to the floor. It wasn't really even an outfit, just a way to keep warm in the horrible climate of his planet.

Pudding pondered this for a moment and then pulled out a few outfits, one for herself and one for the unsuspecting Taruto. She stared at them, trying to figure out which one would look less girly on him. Blue or orange… Blue would be less girly, but Taruto might look cute in the orange. It was a tough decision. "Taru-Taru, do you like blue or orange better, na no da?"

"Huh," Taruto hadn't been paying attention. He was wondering if something happened to Pai to make him not send Kish to help him. Kish was unpredictable when it came to what he would do, but Pai would definitely not stand for Taruto being held hostage. "I don't care," he answered without actually knowing why she was asking. Pudding smiled with a slightly evil grin. Orange it is. "Here Taru-Taru, na no da," she said cheerfully handing him the orange one.

"What's this?" Taruto asked, not comprehending what Pudding wanted him to do with the clothing.

"Taru-Taru can't walk around in dirty clothes, na no da!" Pudding answered happily.

It almost made sense for a moment, but it would be quite a struggle if not impossible to get the clothing changed with the hindering handcuffs. In fact, it took quite a few tries because of the combination of the handcuffs and the two being on different sides of a closet door. After over a half hour of struggle, and mild cursing on Taruto's side, they finally got changed. Lucky for Pudding, Taruto didn't know the clothes wore were considered girl's clothes. In fact, in combination with his hair style, he almost looked like a she. Pudding didn't mention it, secretly admiring the fact that he looked rather cute in the _female _Chinese clothes.

Taruto didn't like the clothes. The pants were longer than he was used to. "Can we go now?" he asked impatiently. He was still hoping to find the key as soon as possible. Pudding shook her head which caused Taruto to hold in a yell of why not.

"We need to wash up first, na no da!" With that she dragged him, in his confusion, to the bathroom. In the bathroom, she leaned down quite suddenly which gave Taruto barely any time to move out of the way of the sink and the cabinet door that Pudding had just opened. "Sorry Taru-Taru, na no da. Pudding forgot to warn you na no da," she said as she rose and closed the cabinet door, a small package in her hand. She opened it to reveal a stick with strange bristles at one end. She then held it out to him.

"What's this?" he asked as he took the stick.

Pudding retrieved her own stick and then answered him, "It's a toothbrush, na no da! It keeps your teeth clean, na no da." Taruto still wore a confused expression on his face. He'd never heard of such a thing and didn't see how it would keep teeth clean.

"Like this, na no da," Pudding said as she saw his confusion. She took her toothbrush and picked up a weird tube in her other hand. Taruto allowed his arm to go limp, preparing it for the forced movement it would go through just seconds later. Pudding lifted her toothbrush to the open tube and squeezed the tube. A weird gel-like substance emerged from the tube's entrance.

"This is toothpaste, na no da. It cleans your teeth while you brush them with the toothbrush. But don't swallow it, na no da. It's not good for you to swallow, na no da." With that, she continued the process of brushing her teeth by getting the toothpaste wet and then quickly yet furiously brushing. When she was done, she looked to Taruto, "Your turn, na no da!"

Taruto mimicked Pudding, almost spitting the stuff out before he even brushed. The minty flavor had taken him by surprise. He'd thought the toothpaste would be flavorless. Once he got over the flavor he continued the process, glad when he could just spit it out.

"How often do we have to do this?" He asked hoping that it would be by the time he was out of the handcuffs so he wouldn't have to taste that weird paste again. His hopes were shattered by her answer.

"Every morning and evening, na no da. I forgot to last night, na no da." Now, no matter what hopes Taruto had of finding the key as soon as possible, he knew it would probably take longer than one day.

"Is there anything else we have to do before we can go look?"

Pudding nodded and opened one of the draws under the sink. There she pulled out a comb and started to comb her hair. This caused her to have to take out the braids of hair on the back of her head. Taruto just watched, happy this activity didn't involve moving his arm. His right wrist was connected to Pudding's left and he praised whatever divine entity that was out there that Pudding was right-handed. That just meant she only used her left hand when she needed two hands like with the toothpaste.

Of course, she did have to use her left hand when putting the braids back in, so there went his right hand again. As she fixed each braid, his hand brushed against one of the finished braids. Though he dismissed it as a simple accident, a part of his mind couldn't help but notice how soft and nicely styled Pudding's hair was. The thought surprised him and he tried to shake it from his mind. Pudding, however, didn't notice his slight shake of the head and just handed him the comb with a smile when she was done.

_A cute smile. _A voice in his mind stated, making a slight tint of red creep onto his cheeks. He took the comb as he mentally tried to get rid of the blush. He didn't like her after all, so why did this blush insist on staying on his face. If Pudding noticed, to Taruto's relief and slight gratitude, she didn't mention it.

Taruto started to comb his hair. The night before, he'd taken the wool cap off after the lights went out because it felt too warm to wear all night. His hair had quite a few knots since, though the aliens had something like combs, he rarely ever felt like combing it. He winced a few times as he forced out a few knots, snapping a few strands of his hair in the process. This is why he rarely ever combed it.

Suddenly, he felt Pudding move her arm so her hand was able to gently grab his and stop its violent attack on the knots. "You have to be gentle, na no da," she said and began to guide his combing motion and Taruto let go. The knots still hurt at times but not nearly as much as when he had been combing it. Taruto could feel a bright, uncontrollable blush, and he was sure this time Pudding definitely couldn't notice.

Pudding did notice. Though she was standing behind him, she could see the mirror in front of him from her angle. After all, she had to change positions quite often to not miss a spot with handcuffed to him. Though, she would have loved to say something to him about it, she was focused on his surprisingly knotty hair and decided she'd address it later. "All done, na no da!" She exclaimed happily and put the comb away. "Now we can look for the key, na no da."

Taruto could barely keep a hint of excitement from his voice. "Great! Where did you have it last?"

"Well, Pudding had the one in Pudding's pocket on the way home from buying it yesterday, here, then Pudding went to school, then work, and then Pudding tackled you and failed at the magic trick."

"Work… as in, Café Mew Mew?" Taruto asked, surprised to hear a bit of nervousness in his voice when he tried to hide it. Any other time it would be fine to go there. He'd be attacking with Pai or Kish, but now he was in a position where he could be a hostage. What if that was what she wanted? What if the key was there, but once he got there he'd be captured, interrogated, and possibly even tortured? No, she didn't seem like the type, but how could he be sure about the others at Café Mew Mew.

"Hai!" She said happily.

"Can we look for the one your siblings misplaced?"

"But Pudding's siblings are very good at hiding things, na no da. Retracing Pudding's steps would be easier, na no da." Pudding didn't seem at all concerned that she was going to bring one of her enemies into her team's headquarters, but Taruto still felt that going to the café would be like going into the lion's den without a weapon; at the mercy of the lion's teeth.

"Alright, but do we have to go to your work? Your friends might realize who I am."

"They won't realize Taru-Taru's identity, na no da. Though, Pudding could call instead, na no da," Pudding adding the last part seeing Taruto's dismay. It was really kind of cute he acted tough but in this situation would rather stay away.

Pudding led Taruto downstairs to the phone and grabbed the receiver from the base. Dialing Café Mew Mew's second phone line (the one for the phone in the kitchen); she waited for Keiichiro to answer. Taruto focused his hearing on the phone; his long ears helped his hearing enough to easily eavesdrop.

"Hello?" Keiichiro's voice answered the phone after the second ring.

"Keiichiro, it's Pudding, na no da! Pudding can't come to work for a while, na no da."

"_Is everything all right?" _ Taruto heard Keiichiro ask in a concerned voice.

"Hai, Pudding's just busy na no da. Pudding has to look for a key, na no da. It's small and silver. Have you seen it na no da?"

"_Hold on. I'll go ask Ichigo." _With that, the line went silent for a few minutes before Keiichiro returned, "_Sorry, no one's seen it."_

"Ok, na no da! Pudding can't come to work until after she finds it na no da." Keiichiro didn't ask for the reason behind the statement (he didn't think it was any of his business), so the two said good bye and hung up. "That just leaves school, the walk home, and here na no da!"

So without any other distractions, Taruto grabbed his wool hat and Pudding called Heicha's teacher to baby-sit her siblings and the two left as soon as the teacher drove up the driveway. It took Taruto a second to realize he'd made this woman a chimera chicken a while ago, but as soon as he realized he looked slightly away so she wouldn't remember him for the brief time she'd seen him before becoming a chimera anima. The woman just waved to Pudding before entering the house, not paying much attention to Taruto.

As they walked, eyes intent on the ground, people again stared. Instead of the ears, this time it was either the fact Taruto was wearing a wool hat when it wasn't winter, Taruto wearing the more feminine clothing, or a mixture of both Pudding didn't know or really care. Why care when people look at you, after all? Taruto, on the other hand, became a little annoyed with a hint of anxiety. Why did they have to stare at him? Could they tell he was one of the beings that terrorized them every once in a while? He glared at them and the majority took that as a sign to stop staring.

It was slow going looking for the key. In between dodging the crowd and keeping their eyes on the ground it took a good half hour or so to get to the magic shop where she'd first gotten the handcuffs and put the key in her pocket. Not that the key was going to be there unless the pants she'd worn the night she bought the cuffs had a hole in the pocket too, she just wanted to make sure.

Next, she led him to her school. It was a public school; there was no way she could afford the expenses of a private school. It wasn't opened that Saturday though, so the two stopped by a café across the street and a few buildings down for some lunch. Afterward they started the walk home, eyes kept again on the sidewalk.

In the two hours it took for them to go to the magic shop on the busy streets of Tokyo, to Pudding's school, and then back home, they didn't find a single clue as to where the key could be. There were three options: the key was somewhere in Café Mew Mew (which wouldn't help because they'd have to go retrieve it), within the hallways of Pudding's school, or somewhere in Pudding's house. That night would be a night of rummaging through everything the Fon house had to either find the first key or the key Pudding's siblings had misplaced. And if that didn't work? Well… let's just say Taruto would experience the "joys" of school for himself starting Monday.

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When Taruto had figured they'd be rummaging for the key in Pudding's house, it didn't occur to him that cleaning was included in the rummaging process. In fact, Pudding getting Taruto to help her clean seemed like more of an accomplishment than a necessity brought on by the fact the only way to find the key would be to clean. 

Taruto, like most children, just didn't like to clean and vacuuming seemed like a chore that wouldn't help but hinder the search. After all, if the key was grabbed by the suction of the vacuum there would be no chance to get the key back from the vacuum's stomach. Despite this fact, he vacuumed while Pudding tried to dust behind him (another chore that didn't seem to help). It wasn't going well, however, since Taruto had to move around more than Pudding, and even with Pudding's fast paced attitude and movement it became kind of a hassle.

"Can't we just look through everything and then clean up?" Taruto complained a hint of a whine in his voice. He really just wanted to find the key. There's nothing else he could ask for, and again, this cleaning wasn't helping.

"No. If we do, it will become a mess and we won't know where we've looked and where we haven't, na no da."

As much as Taruto would have liked to find a come back for that statement, he could find none. It was true. The more mess there was, the harder it would be to find the tiny silver key they seeked. So after vacuuming and dusting, the two went to one of the bookshelves and began to organize it. At one moment, Taruto thought he'd found the key, but it turned out to be too small a key and Pudding grabbed it without explanation as if it was for something private that he couldn't know about.

Next were the couch cushions, but there wasn't much under there except some misplaced yen and crumbs from the night before when they'd watched the movie. They also cleaned out a few cabinets, the refrigerator (this was the time Taruto was sure they were cleaning more than looking for the key), and under all the beds. The key was nowhere to be seen and it was near dinnertime.

Of course, there was no rest between cleaning and making dinner and Taruto was becoming a little worn out from the continuous work. Why did he have to be the one stuck to someone with such a hyper work ethic? He was thankful that eating dinner didn't take much work.

"How did looking for the key go?" Lucha asked as they ate.

"Pudding and Taru-Taru didn't find it, but at least it was a nice walk, na no da!" Pudding said happily.

"I'm sorry onee-chan. It was my idea to hide the spare key," Hanacha threw into the conversation.

"It's ok, na no da! It's fun to hang out with Taru-Taru, na no da!"

They continued to eat quietly. After a while, however, Heicha asked a question that neither Pudding nor Taruto knew how to answer. "How come we've never had Taru-Taru oniisan over before?"

Taruto barely kept his eyes from narrowing into a glare at the child. He wasn't supposed to be in this house with these humans, and the longer he stayed the more likely questions like this would be asked.

Pudding didn't know how to answer either. She searched every part of her mind for an explanation and when she couldn't find one she answered cheerfully with the best excuse she could find, "Taru-Taru doesn't live around here, na no da. He's only here for this long because of our problem, na no da!"

With that question answered, the rest of the dinner went by without any other questions directed at Taruto. Pudding and Taruto cleaned the dishes and searched a little more for the key before turning in for the night, using the same sleeping arrangement they had the night before.

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AN: ** Well, there's the long awaited chapter three. I am sorry for the delay in the chapter. There was a little writer's block in there with lazy procrastination, but I think I have the concepts of the next few chapters in mind so hopefully it won't take too long. Hopefully I kept the two in character and you liked my small attempt at fluff. I'm not too good at TxP fluff because Taruto's still a boy around the cootie phase of his life so it's just harder to write, but I'm trying. Please review if you're still out there. 

**Hai: Yes**

**Onee-chan: Big sister**


	4. Sunday

**Monkeys Can't do Magic**

**By: DarkWolfYoukai860**

AN: Wow… I'm a horrible authoress. Sorry for the absolute lateness of this chapter. I had to read the whole month of July other than my week of vacation, but I didn't get enough time on the comp to update during said vacation. Thanks for all of the reviews. I really appreciate it. This is probably one of the best fics I've written so far. Also, the chapter title for this one is very lame, but I couldn't help it. Also, by request, I will cut the na no da factor down to when my discretion says it would be a good place.

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**Ch4: Sunday**

_'Another day, another waste of time without looking for the key,' _thought Taruto at breakfast. After two days with the Fon family, he doubted that he would ever get out of the horrible trap known as handcuffs. He could already tell by Pudding's expression that she wouldn't be looking for the key on this day.

Despite his suspicions, he turned to her and asked in vain, "Are we going to look for the key today?"

Pudding smiled a smile that the alien could already guess the meaning to. "Nope! Other than work, school's the only place where Pudding could have lost it, and today is Sunday. Pudding can't go to school on Sunday. It's closed, na no da!"

Taruto quietly returned to eating, his eyes flooded with disappointment. He wouldn't dare go to Café Mew Mew no matter what the circumstances. The odds of him not being detected by any of the mews was microscopic at best, and he would never let Pudding take him near the building.

"So, what are you going to do today, onee-chan?" asked Heicha cheerfully. If they weren't going to look for the key, they would probably stay home and play.

Pudding seemed thoughtful for a moment as if even she hadn't decided. "Pudding needs to go shopping for groceries, and Taru-Taru needs new clothes so… we'll go shopping, na no da!"

"Shopping?" Taruto muttered questioningly under his breath. On a planet where food was limited, his people didn't have huge stores to buy their meals. They had food rations instead, like a world of perpetual depression that would never end.

He looked at the food on the plate in front of him and pushed it away. "I'm full," he said quickly. Thinking of his people, with so little food to sustain them, had made him lose his appetite. He felt bad for sitting in Pudding's house eating free food while his kin suffered on his planet, though wasting it was just as bad. He looked at the handcuffs that restrained him and knew he had to escape them as soon as he could.

Pudding sensed a more serious aura around the table and looked to Taruto, knowing him to be the source. "Is something wrong, na no da?" She hadn't liked the gloomy nature of the serious mood overtaking them.

Taruto raised his head from staring at the food. "No, there's nothing wrong. I was just thinking about something else," he said trying to shrug off his thoughts.

Perhaps it was Pudding's carefree nature or perhaps it was still written plainly on his face, but Pudding could tell something was bothering her alien friend. She knew he wouldn't tell her, for if he wouldn't say anything the first time why would he reveal anything any other time she asked. However, whatever was bothering him, she decided she would cheer him up.

Soon, the rest of the household finished their meals, and the clean up of breakfast commenced at its usual fast pace. Doing the dishes was still a pain for Taruto, but he was starting to get used to it. He was able to dry one or two dishes the entire time and nothing landed on the floor now.

Once he dried the dishes he hadn't been able to dry before, Pudding pretty much dragged him out of the kitchen. "We're going to the store. Don't answer the door, na no da!" Pudding called to her siblings. A large mall wasn't too far from home and she didn't think any harm could befall her siblings if she left them for an hour or two. They were used to the occasional day of being left alone when a babysitter wasn't available.

The pair walked quickly down the street, Pudding as happy as ever while Taruto didn't feel like walking around in the morning. Looking around, he could see there was a small crowd but decided to risk floating slightly while still making slow walking motions. This may not have lessened the amount of energy he was using, but he was getting restless just following Pudding wherever she went and he wanted to find a way out of the handcuffs with or without the key.

It wasn't long before the pair reached the large building and entered through the main doors. Pudding was quick to lead him towards a small clothing store. She still wouldn't mention he'd been wearing girl's clothing, but he was starting to figure that out for himself. It was easy to realize, even for him, that the only clothes in Pudding's house that would fit him well enough would be hers.

Taruto's eyes widened as they entered the store. He'd never seen such a place in his entire life. Surveying the whole store, he saw racks upon racks of clothes of so many different types that he could have easily been overwhelmed had Pudding not spoken a word at that moment, "This way, Taru-Taru. You'd probably like these over here, na no da!"

He nodded, any even slightly rude remark escaping him. He was so strangely quiet that morning that Pudding was starting to worry a little. She directed him to a nearby shirt rack that contained what she guessed was his size and told him to pick any that he liked. He picked a few that caught his interest and tried them on. Lucky for them, the dressing rooms were not in a larger room like they would be in Kohl's, so Pudding was able to position her arm to a comfortable spot near the top of the door.

Once they bought the shirts, they proceeded to the next store in the mall and bought more, this time including jean shorts as well as jeans which he didn't find as comfortable as his usual attire. He found the constant trips to the stores around the mall repetitive and soon tired of it. He was glad when she finally announced that they were done shopping for clothing.

However, his relief evaporated as quickly as a puddle on a hot summer day as she dragged him towards another store. "I thought you said we were done," he protested.

"We are done with clothe shopping, but we still need to buy some food, na no da!" She answered cheerfully and continued to drag him into the store. As they entered this new store, he was again overwhelmed by the quantity of the products it contained. He quickly realized that every item within his gaze was a different type of food and any inedible product was hidden from view in an aisle deep within the store.

Pudding didn't give him time to stare as she grabbed a cart and headed towards the baking aisle. Her purpose for shopping had been decided as soon as she'd decided to cheer her alien friend up. Entering the aisle she grabbed a small bag of flour, some sugar, and some brown sugar as well as a bag of chocolate chips. Taruto paid no attention to this, feeling as though this errand wouldn't help him at all.

Pudding thought for a moment deciding this was all she needed in the aisle and headed to other parts of the store grabbing a random item here and there. She finally showed signs of being done with her shopping as she headed toward the checkout line. The cashier smiled at them as she rang up the items, though Taruto saw an uncertain look in her eyes as she saw the handcuffs and the lack of adult accompaniment.

The walk home held nothing eventful, though Taruto was sure he saw Kish fly past far above the ground. He could even imagine his annoying friend's smirk at his predicament and felt anger welling up inside him because of it. Kish probably thought of his trapped state as a joke, and he wondered why he'd yet to receive any help from Pai.

They arrived at the Fon house and Pudding quickly unlocked the door and entered. "We're home, na no da!" She called to her siblings. They answered with a welcome home though stayed in their room for once. Pudding didn't seem phased by their lack of attention and led Taruto to the kitchen where they put away most of the groceries while leaving the items they'd obtained from the baking aisle on the table. Baking soda, salt, butter, vanilla extract, and two eggs joined the other items on the table, and Pudding opened a cabinet to grab a mixing bowl from it.

Taruto tried to mask his interest in what she was doing as he followed her around the kitchen. He'd never seen this combination of food on the young mew's table before, and he could only wonder what she was going to do with them.

Finally she stopped and looked at him happily. "We're going to make cookies. They'll cheer you up, na no da!"

Taruto finally found his attitude at her utterance of her last statement, "I don't need cheering up! I just want to get out of these stupid handcuffs, and I'm tired of following you around to your meaningless tasks!"

Pudding was quiet for an instant and he thought he actually saw a glimmer of hurt in her eyes, but it was gone in a second replaced by her usually cheerful expression, "Even if Taru-Taru doesn't need cheering up, making cookies is fun, na no da!"

For once Taruto felt an unmistakable pang of guilt because of his words. Pudding had always been an impenetrable sea of happiness, and he never thought any word he could say to her would have any effect. Had he just imagined the small glimmer of hurt, or did he really see it? Did his words really reach her heart? He didn't want to find out so he nodded and asked her to teach him how to make cookies.

She quickly brightened to her usual happiness and grabbed the bowl. "Ok, first we have to preheat the oven right there to 190 degrees Celsius, na no da. Can you do that for me?" Taruto nodded obediently and easily figured out the oven near him. As he turned back to her, she handed him a stick of butter and dug out a cookie sheet from under the stove.

"Mix the baking soda the flour, and salt in this bowl. I'll mix the other ingredients, na no da!" Taruto complied with her instructions finding the containers labeled salt and baking soda. He stopped for a moment, puzzled.

"How much do I mix?" he asked feeling that amount most likely had an effect on the final product.

Pudding handed him a small spoon-like object that had the letters tsp on it. "Use this for both of them and then give it back to me. I need it for the vanilla, na no da." Taruto nodded using the teaspoon and then handing it back to Pudding.

As he did so, Pudding grabbed another curious object from one of the cabinets over the counter. He watched her put the butter, both sugars, and the vanilla extract and then plug in the new device. He stepped back in surprise as the thing suddenly made a loud noise as its two silver limbs spun mixing the ingredients. After a small time, she motioned for him to hand her an egg and he complied still watching the strange mixing machine. She added the egg and mixed again for a small time, and then she held out her hand for the other egg; repeating her earlier actions.

Finally, she turned off the mixer, found a wooden spoon, took the bowl of mixed flour he had prepared earlier, and began to stir it in. She added it slowly as she struggled with the stirring until she was sure it was all mixed in nicely. It was then she again turned to face him, "There. Now we can make the cookies, na no da!" She grabbed four small spoons from the silverware drawer and handed them to him. "You scoop a small amount of the dough onto one spoon and then use the other to push it onto the cookie sheet." She demonstrated the action and they both prepared the first batch of cookies, putting them into the oven.

"Now what?" he asked impatiently.

"We wait for it to cook, na no da!" she answered happily as if waiting didn't phase her one bit (and he was sure it really didn't).

As if sensing his impatience, she took two new spoons from the silverware drawer and handed him one while scooping a spoonful of dough from the bowl. "You can also eat it like this. Although, too much can make you sick, na no da!" With that she took a small bite from the large clump of dough on her spoon.

Taruto mimicked her and found the cookie dough tasted really good. He reached for another spoonful but was stopped by Pudding as if she was reminding him too much would only make him sick. Ignoring this he again reached for another spoonful, and Pudding decided to stop him in a more interesting fashion. Beating him to the cookie dough she took a spoonful, bent back the spoon a little, and released if to fling the cookie dough into Taruto's cheek.

The young alien looked offended for a moment before he decided to return fire with his own spoonful of cookie dough. His retaliation brought a cheerful smile to Pudding's face and she again flung a spoonful of dough at him. The repeated action finally sparked the mini food fight which Pudding had been aiming for. It worked a more lighthearted attitude into Taruto, and he soon began to enjoy himself.

Cookie dough splattered everywhere around the kitchen as Pudding laughed cheerfully and Taruto suppressed a small smile of enjoyment. They were each hit with their share of dough when the fight suddenly stopped as the timer beeped for the baking cookies. Both looked toward the bowl of dough and realized only half of the original amount was left, the other half adorning either the kitchen or both of them.

"The cookies are done, na no da!" Pudding exclaimed happily as she found a cooking glove in one of the kitchen drawers and removed them from the oven, dragging Taruto along as she went. Taruto watched as she used a spatula to remove the cookies from the baking sheet and put them on a plate to cool. They then repeated the whole process of placing the dough on the cookie sheet and placing the cookie sheet back into the oven.

"We need to clean the kitchen, na no da." With that she gave Taruto no choice but to help clean.

It was around that time Pudding's siblings ran downstairs, the smell of cookies promising its own type of happiness. "Can we have one, one-chan?" They all asked in unison.

"Of course, but you have to wait until they cool, na no da!" She said as she wiped down the countertop and Taruto cleaned the cabinet doors.

Her siblings reluctantly obeyed eyeing the cookies as if they hadn't been fed in weeks. Cookies were a rare treat to them, for Pudding usually focused the money on healthier food, new clothing, and other expenses. However, with the work at Café Mew Mew, treats such as these were becoming more common.

Lunch came as Pudding and Taruto finished cleaning, and Pudding decided to order a pizza because of the ease of not having to make any food. It was an easy and slightly inexpensive meal that Pudding always worked into the budget in case she didn't feel like making food.

* * *

Meanwhile, as Taruto sat enjoying the strange food humans called pizza, Pai was planning a way to contact Taruto without alarming the monkey mew. Kish watched him rolling his eyes. "You're over thinking all of this, Pai. I'm sure Taruto is smart enough to figure out the mew's weaknesses without us contacting him."

"You're missing the issue, Kish. We have to inform him that we know what's happening and that he should be gathering information. If we don't do so, he will only focus on escaping without taking the advantage to gather the information or take the monkey mew hostage," Pai responded.

"Don't worry. I'll contact him. It'll be easy. All I have to do is talk to him while she's asleep. I'm surprised you didn't think of it, Pai," Kish said with a smirk.

Pai was not amused by Kish's mockery and suppressed a glare reasoning that his annoying comrade was just trying to get a reaction from him. He would not play Kish's game. "Fine. You talk to him tonight then." Kish nodded in agreement.

* * *

The rest of the night at the Fon house went by with its usual fast pace and a few hours with Pudding's siblings. It was a routine Taruto was slowly getting used to, and his complaints about the household were beginning to lessen. However, Pudding hinted something new was approaching for the next day, and the young alien was trying to figure out what it was.

Throughout the evening, he tried to guess what Pudding was planning for the next day, but he always came up short. Even as Pudding fell asleep, he was trying to find the answer. That was he heard a small tap on the window of Pudding's room. Looking toward it, he saw a familiar, smirking face as Kish looked at him questioningly for entry. Taruto nodded that no one was awake and Kish teleported into the room.

"Kish, what took you guys so long?" Taruto whispered convinced that Kish would break the chain of the handcuffs with his swords and they would leave the Fon house as quietly as Kish had entered.

Taruto was soon disappointed by Kish's whispered answer, "Pai and I were talking and we decided you will be our personal spy. Therefore, you have to stay here and gather information. Pai also thinks this gives us the advantage of having a quick hostage."

Taruto almost let out a scream of anger at their planning without him, but he held it in knowing it would wake the whole house. When he was calm enough to whisper, he answered Kish, "I can't believe you decided that without me. I've been trying to escape these handcuffs hoping you guys would help and then you make this into a plan. This was your idea, wasn't it Kish?" His voice held a hint of the betrayal he felt.

"Why does it matter whose idea it was? Just stay here for a bit. I have a feeling Pai will tell me to tell you to take her hostage sooner or later. If we play this right, we could beat the Mew Mews and save our people," Kish said the last part with excitement and passion because of the way to save their people.

Kish's skills of persuasion finally worked and Taruto nodded. "I'll wait for your next message then. If this really does help save our people, I'll forgive you for not helping me escape."

"Fine then. Ja ne, Taruto. I'll inform you of our next action." With that, Kish disappeared. In his mind, he juggled the thought of whether or not Taruto would take Pudding hostage especially if she could be hurt. Though he was excited about the idea of saving their people, he also wanted to see if Taruto would end up with feelings like he had for Ichigo or if he would take Pudding hostage without a second thought. It would be very interesting indeed.

Taruto looked to the spot where Kish had been a moment before, his second pang of guilt for the day running through him. He had just agreed to bring Pudding to Pai and perhaps even to the merciless plans of Deep Blue to save his people. He couldn't grasp where the guilt came from. If it would save their people, then it had to be done. He wasn't like Kish. He wouldn't fall for a human. However, glancing toward Pudding, he couldn't help but think of the betrayal it would hand Pudding and her siblings. How could he take the guardian of those five children from them after being so friendly to them? It didn't seem right, and his previous thoughts of the next day forgotten, he fell into an uneasy sleep filled with feelings of guilt and doubt.

* * *

AN: There's chapter 4. Hope you guys enjoyed it. I don't really feel like it was as good as my other chapters, but it included everything I wanted it to, so it will suffice for the story as a whole. The degrees Celsius was found on an internet temperature converter because the US is the only country that doesn't use the metric system. Please review and sorry again for the delay.


	5. The Prison for Children

**Monkeys Can't do Magic**

**By: DarkWolfYoukai860**

AN: Well, this will be the last update until after school starts and settles down. I'm going to try and update more frequently. Also, sooner or later Taruto will succumb to the fluff factor and we can get some actual fluff going. I have the chapter in mind already, but I'm still trying to develop him into it. Hope you like the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Prison for Children**

Taruto groaned as he heard a loud beeping noise and felt consciousness chase sleep from him fairly earlier than usual. He was unceremoniously pulled up to a standing position as Pudding's fast paced nature seemed quicker than usual (if that were even possible).

"Morning, Taru-Taru!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"What's going on? The sun's barely even up yet. You usually wait at least until 8:30 or 9:00 before waking up," the alien complained. He hated waking up early, but he'd take 9:00 am before 6:00 am any day.

"Pudding and Taru-Taru have to go to school, na no da!" Pudding said it in such a matter-of-fact voice, not noticing his confusion, that Taruto almost believed she had told him about this before and that he'd just forgotten.

The keyword there was, of course, almost. As the information sank in, he became more and more annoyed. The shopping trip the day before must have been specifically for the occasion, and Pudding had left him in the dark about it.

"I don't need school! Thanks to Pai, I can do advanced equations you've probably never even heard of!" he protested in more annoyance than anger. In truth, he hadn't ever paid attention to Pai the entire time Pai had tried to teach him anything. However, he felt sure that he was smart enough not to need whatever classes her school had to offer.

"Everyone needs school. Besides, Pudding's not giving any choice in the matter, na no da!" Pudding would have sounded just like a parent had she not been so overly enthusiastic about making him go to school.

The young alien opened his mouth to protest, but nothing came out. Throwing up his arms in defeat, he allowed her to drag him to the bathroom. In the bathroom, Pudding paused looking completely puzzled.

This actually alarmed Taruto. He'd never seen Pudding so puzzled before especially in the bathroom. "What's wrong?" he asked a little more concerned than he meant to be.

"Pudding and Taru-Taru need to wash more thoroughly today, but Pudding doesn't know how to do it, na no da."

It didn't take Taruto to realize what she meant and his cheeks became redder than a tomato. It was more embarrassing than the other bathroom incident which they had thankfully solved. This, however, was different.

He closed his eyes trying to escape from the situation all together. He kept his eyes closed for about five minutes as he relied on his ears to tell him what Pudding was up to. He heard running water and feared the worse.

Pudding's solution wasn't as bad as he'd thought it would be, but it wasn't too good either. When he opened his eyes, he saw a bath tub full of water and Pudding, fully clothed, get into it. She motioned for him to follow and he sighed. At least there was nothing too perverted about it.

"We'll wear swim suits next time, na no do!" she said happily. He had to admit, it would be a completely acceptable way to go about bathing so he nodded in agreement.

Once that was done, the usual ritual of getting ready took place. They ate. He and Pudding got ready and then Pudding prepared each of her siblings for school. She never liked sending her brothers off to school without walking with them, but she had to take Heicha to the daycare school and that was in the other direction.

"Ok, go straight to school and be careful crossing the street. Don't talk to strangers, na no da," Pudding said like a doting parent who didn't want to let her children out alone.

"We know, onee-chan," answered her brothers and they left the house together. Pudding watched them go worriedly.

"You really let them walk there alone?" Taruto asked with interest. It didn't seem like a safe decision to him.

"I have no choice. My mother died and my father is traveling in China. I have to take Heicha to her daycare so I can't go with them. It's very worrisome at time, na no da."

Taruto was quiet. He'd never thought about where Pudding's parents were, just that their absence was unusual. Pai had always told him and Kish that humans were not like them; that humans were spoiled creatures that had everything while their people had nothing. The fact that Pudding could stay so happy as to not even shed a tear was amazing.

"Oh. Sorry I asked…"

Pudding dropped the subject and happily pulled him to the front door. "We have to go. Come on, Heicha! We can't be late, na no da!"

Heicha hurried towards them and followed them out the door. Pudding locked the door and they were on their way. "This hat isn't going to turn the attention onto me, is it?" Taruto asked suddenly. The wool hat was itchy and hot in the warm weather, and he looked out of place.

Pudding stared at him for a second. "It isn't really the best hat, but it has to do. There aren't any others Pudding could find that would work, na no da."

"Why does Taru-Taru onii-san need to wear a hat? Is his long ears real?" Heicha asked, interjecting herself into the conversation.

Pudding and Taruto were quiet, Taruto's eyes widening. Pudding, however, just smiled. "Taru-Taru's ears are different. It's easier for him this way, na no da!" That was the end of the conversation. Taruto's identity was still hidden.

They soon stopped in front of the daycare, and Taruto wondered whether or not he should approach the place. He was the one responsible for turning the teacher of the place into a chicken woman after all.

Of course, Pudding didn't even think of the transgression and all three were soon at the daycare's door. The teacher greeted them, paying attention mostly to Pudding and Heicha, though she did give him a curious glance. She seemed slightly suspicious about him but didn't say a thing about it.

Pudding and the teacher talked for a small amount of time before they said goodbye and left the building. "I think she suspects something about me," he said as they walked alone.

"What do you mean, na no da?"

"She probably remembers me taking her soul and turning it into a chimera anima. If she connects me to knowing you, she could figure out both our identities."

Pudding laughed at this as if it was a joke. "Sensei doesn't think like that. Even if she realizes Taru-Taru's identity, she won't do anything about it. Sensei is so kind, na no da!"

"If you say so… So when do we get to that school you're dragging me to?" Taruto asked suddenly. He was tired of the occasional person glancing at him like he was crazy. It was times like these he wished his ears weren't so large.

"We're almost there. It's that building right there, na no da!" answered Pudding happily as she pointed to a small rectangular building in the distance. Taruto wasn't too happy about the amount of humans crowding into the place. He never liked humans and didn't want to have to go into a crowded building of them.

"Do we have to go there?" he asked in a complaining tone, though he already knew the answer.

"Yes. Besides, Taru-Taru can look for the key while we're there, na no da!"

Taruto was quiet. He hadn't thought about it that way, but now that he had orders to remain where he was, he wasn't very happy about the chance to find the key. Lucky for him, Pudding didn't ask about his change in attitude, and they were soon entering the school gates with the other students. Taruto could sense stares from all sides at their predicament.

"Ohayo, Pudding!" called a girl who approached them. She was a small girl with navy tinted black hair and blue eyes. Her hair was pulled back in a long braid and she looked just as cheerful as Pudding.

"Ohayo, Ren! How's it going, na no do?"

"Fine. Who's your friend?" she asked with interest, "and why's he wearing a wool hat in May?"

"This is Taru-Taru! Pudding accidentally handcuffed herself to him and lost the key. Taru-Taru is Pudding's good friend, na no da!" Pudding answered happily.

Taruto sighed, "It's Taruto, not Taru-Taru!"

"Nice to meet you, Taruto. So, why are you wearing that hat?" asked Ren persistently.

Taruto was at a loss for an explanation and, for once, so was Pudding. She could think of nothing logical for the situation, and she finally realized the wool hat really was a problem. "He's from another country. It's part of his culture to wear hats." Pudding's answer was a quick, panicked answer, but it seemed to work for the moment. Ren didn't say anything else on the subject.

Instead, the two went on to discuss their weekend (with Pudding heavily editing anything that had to do with Taruto being an alien), and Taruto decided to tune them out as he surveyed the area. In his opinion the school looked like a prison, and he'd rather be elsewhere.

The three walked through the hallway to their classroom. Taruto found himself standing next to Pudding's desk as she sat down. He had nowhere to sit, and realized the desk on Pudding's left was occupied by a little boy who kept staring at him. He glared at the boy, and soon the boy looked away.

Finally, a tall woman walked into the room and all was quiet. The teacher stared at the pair and could honestly think that this was the weirdest thing she's seen throughout her whole career. "Excuse me… Are you new here?" It was a stupid question for the teacher to ask, but she didn't know an appropriate question for the pair.

"He's new here. He's with me, na no da!"

The teacher looked up her class roster on the computer and looked down the list of names. Finally she found one that looked unfamiliar to her. "Are you Matsumoto, Taruto?"

Taruto nodded quickly, though the last name seemed completely made up. He didn't let it show that he didn't recognize the last name though. Taruto had no idea when Pudding had the time to register him into school and how he hadn't noticed.

"Ok. I'm Mrs. Toyama. Why don't you come up here and introduce yourself?"

Taruto hated the idea of standing in front of the class and talking about himself. He hadn't prepared a fake history or anything. However, Pudding stood and dragged him to the front of the room. He sighed. It was best just to get it over with.

"I'm Matsumoto, Taruto. You all can call me Taruto, though. I'm from a small country that none of you have probably ever heard of. It's a cold country so we always wear winter hats. It's also a poor, developing country, and a lot of my people get caught in illness. My parents sent me to Japan recently so I could get a better education and earn a better living." Finishing his fake history, he looked at his classmates to see how many actually believed it. To his amazement, no one seemed to doubt him.

However, a classmate raised her hand and asked, "Why do you need to wear a hat here when it's not cold?"

"Because I… I'm so used to wearing hats that I feel weird if I don't wear them. It's like a custom for my people to wear hats," answered Taruto. He basically tried to keep his answer about the same as Pudding's had been to Ren. His answer seemed to satisfy the class, and he looked at the teacher questioningly for where to sit.

Looking at the handcuffs, the teacher considered where she could put him. There was a fairly obvious solution to the problem. "Ok, Kazuka-san you're going to have to move behind Fong-san so Taruto can sit next to her."

The boy who had been looking at Taruto earlier stood and relocated to the empty desk behind Pudding, and Taruto and Pudding went back to their desks. Pudding handed Taruto a pencil and some notebook paper. She'd forgotten to get him his own school supplies the night before. Taruto took them without a question to what they were.

Mrs. Toyama issued Taruto his books and began a long lecture about math that Taruto tuned out with little interest. He didn't need to learn stuff that he already knew. However, he did look up when he heard the word 'homework.' Had the definition not been obvious, he would have wondered what it was. The lecture had taken about an hour after which the teacher let them work on the homework.

Taruto looked at the math rolling his eyes at how simple it looked. However, he soon began to wonder why he hadn't been paying attention. The unit was on measurement conversion, and even though he knew what a meter was, he didn't understand the concept of an inch or any other English measurement. Biting his lower lip, he tried to remember what he had heard even if he was paying attention. Finally, he decided to skip that question and went on to the next one. He could easily convert meters to kilometers and even nanometers to gigameters, though such small units of measurement weren't on the sheet.

He finished the easy questions within the half hour and looked back at the harder set of questions. His thoughts didn't do any good; he was still quite confused. Finally, he looked to Pudding's desk to see if she understood it and found her working quickly and cheerfully; though, she did stop here and there to think about some of them. He decided he'd just ask her later.

Finally, the teacher moved on to science. It was simple science and Taruto found it interesting. The most interesting part he found was a small part of the chapter on climate changes. He remembered the stories of the climate becoming so bad his people had to leave Earth and wondered if he could find something more about it if he tried a little research.

They had a little homework in science as well, but it was an easy assignment for anyone who knew how to look up answers in the book. Taruto wasn't impressed with Pudding's school. Young humans didn't learn much in his opinion; though, he was used to Pai drilling him every once in a while about whatever the older alien felt was important for him to learn.

It wasn't until history class that Taruto actually felt confused. He never had to learn anything about his people's history other than that of their civilization on Earth, and he wasn't familiar with any of Japan's history for obvious reasons. The word 'shogun' was foreign to him and the history of both Shinto and Buddhism didn't make sense to him. He felt overwhelmed with the information, and he noticed he was the only one that was confused.

When they were given a packet for homework, Taruto hit his head on his desk. He had a headache and the action only made it worse. Pudding noticed this and whispered, "What's wrong?"

"Your people's history is so confusing. What is a shogun?"

"Pudding will explain it later. Don't worry, Taru-Taru. Pudding will help with any homework you don't understand, na no da!" With that, she turned back to her paper and the class worked on it until lunch.

Pudding surprised Taruto at lunch by getting out two bentos that he had not noticed her prepare that morning. He took it hungrily with a quiet, "Thank you," and began to eat. It was at that point that Ren and Toshio Kazuka joined them.

"Hi guys," Ren said happily.

Pudding greeted her happily while Taruto just nodded in acknowledgement. He was paying more attention to Toshio, the boy who had occupied his seat. He was still staring and Taruto was getting annoyed. "What are you staring at?" he finally asked irritably. Toshio quickly looked down at his lunch not responding to Taruto's question.

"Hey Pudding, do you want this chocolate?" Toshio asked a while later. Taruto had notice the other boy take it out of his pocket from nowhere as if it was a planned gift.

Pudding nodded taking it. "Thanks, na no da!" she exclaimed happily.

Taruto felt an unfamiliar emotion building inside of him. He couldn't place what it was, but he suddenly disliked Toshio even more than before. He noticed every sign of happiness on the other boy's face and watched the boy's every move after that point.

Ren watched the whole thing with interest. She could sense a conflict brewing and wondered how long the strange new boy could last before starting a fight. She could tell Taruto was quite an irritable boy and was curious of how he would channel his jealousy and anger.

Toshio scooted closer to the oblivious Pudding and Taruto's eyes narrowed. At that moment, he resolved to use Toshio's soul as his next chimera anima even though he was better with plants than souls. Why would that matter anyway?

Taruto looked at his lunch and found a cookie Pudding had packed for him. Though he liked the cookies they'd made, he had an urge to give it to Pudding. Ren watched even closer as Taruto quietly offered Pudding the cookie, his cheeks turning red.

"You don't want it, Taru-Taru?" She asked.

"I… I want you to have it," he stuttered, unsure of what was coming over him. He felt like his body was acting on its own.

"Thank you, na no da!" Pudding exclaimed even more cheerfully than with the chocolate. Taruto felt triumphant as Toshio glared at him. Pudding didn't notice, for she was talking to Ren.

Finally, lunch was over, and all the students returned to their seats for the rest of the school day. Mrs. Toyama began language class, teaching the class a few kanji symbols and then assigning a small writing assignment for them to work on. Taruto had trouble because the topic was a short personal narrative. Unable to think of anything he could write that wouldn't reveal his identity, he finally just made it up.

By this time he was tiring of the constant talking from the teacher and would rather be at home or back with his comrades without the handcuffs that kept him firmly by Pudding's side. Luckily for him, he wouldn't be sitting in the desk much longer. Unluckily for him, the next class was PE. As they stood and were led outside, Taruto wondered if it was even possible to do anything too physical when handcuffed to another person.

The PE teacher, Mr. Takeuchi, stared at Pudding and Taruto scratching his head in confusion. He couldn't decide what to do with the two. Would he put Pudding with the boys, playing soccer, or would he put Taruto with the girls to run or walk around the track? He finally asked which the two prefer and Taruto opted to go on the track. He didn't know what soccer was or how to play, and it seemed like a very well known game. There was no need to embarrass himself by trying to play it.

Taruto was glad for the break from thinking but soon realized Pudding wasn't just going to walk like he'd hoped. She started to sprint cheerfully and it was all he could do to keep up without trying to fly unnoticed. It was too risky trying to fly there. By the end of the period, Taruto's legs hurt more than they ever had before. When one can fly, he or she most likely would rarely run.

The last subject was music which passed quickly for everyone but Taruto. The class was learning the basics of the recorder, but Taruto couldn't understand or remember the basic notes being taught and ended up playing a horrid, squeaky noise with no rhythm or tune at all. He was glad for the class to finally end. It was finally time to go home, and there was no sign of the lost key.

The two walked quietly towards the daycare to pick up Heicha. Pudding was humming a cheerful song, and Taruto just listened as he carried the small amount of homework he had; he needed a school bag. He felt quite at peace and wondered if he was getting too used to human society. It wasn't a good idea to do so, and he realized it would be a weakness later on. However, he couldn't help but start to increasingly like his nice, routine life in the Fong house, and thoughts of whether or not he'd end up like Kish kept popping worryingly up in his mind.

* * *

**AN: There's chapter five. I couldn't help but have to explain how they would bathe without it being perverted. It kept bothering me. Also, I have no idea what elementary students in Japan learn, but I know it's more serious there than here so I took my best guess. I also gave Taruto a rival to bring out his more jealous nature. That might help him show his feelings more which will help me a little more. Hope you liked it. Please review to keep me writing.**

**Bento – box lunch**

**The presence of –san – I put the honorific in this chapter because I didn't want people to think Toshio's last name was his first name.**

**Fon vs. Fong – I changed the way I spelled Pudding's last name because, though both are basically correct, I decided I like spelling it Fong better than Fon.**

**Pudding's humming – I don't know why, but I decided Pudding should be humming one of her themes, "Yes Yes Yes."**


	6. Author's Note: The Happy Future of MCdM

Monkeys Can't Do Magic Public Service Announcement

Brought to you by: DarkWolfYoukai860

Hello everyone who still watches this fic. I have to thank you for your interest and support after at least four years of no updates to speak of. I am a terrible authoress who almost abandoned this fic without any warning to any of you and then left it to rot on my mostly inactive account.

However, this is no longer going to be the case. I've recently had a renewed interest in writing TMM fanfiction and have decided that _Monkeys_ will be my main focus until I get it done. Unfortunately, I have no time frame for when I will get the next chapter out. In fact, I'm going to do an overhaul of this fic. There should be no major changes unless I state otherwise. I'm just adding more description and maybe rewording a few things. This decision is mainly to make me feel better about the earlier chapters. Chapter one has already been updated if you would like something to read.

Also, I've forgotten my original direction with this story. Therefore, as I overhaul currently published chapters I will also be taking the time to plan out chapters better so that I will not get another case of writer's block and let the story crash and burn like I did before.

I'll post my progress on my profile so be on the lookout for updated chapters. Thanks again for your support!


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